Archives

Categories

Meta

Nature is the world’s #nofilter

Standard

For those of you who do not know, I have ventured into the world of kayaking. What does that mean? Well, I bought a kakak. I know, some of you may be thinking that there are other things that you would want to spend $200 on. But, to me, that is the thing that I have wanted most. Now, I have to admit that I will probably have to kayak by myself, at least until I can convince a friend or two to buy one as well, most of the time. This past weekend, I got an opportunity to try it out at a lake on a Forest Preserve’s property. Although I may be by myself, it was the most peaceful hour of the weekend. I could have floated there all day, paddling away, looking at all the robins flying on a small island, and picking trash off the shoreline. During that time, I began to wonder what made that trip peaceful.

<— That is me in the distance

For starters, peace can be sometimes seen when no one else is around. On that Sunday, it was just my physical presence and my buzzing mind, appreciating every stroke I took with my paddle. Life is almost always too crazy and a little ‘me’ time does not suggest you are anti-social, it just says that you are human. Another reason that the kayaking trip was peaceful is because I was in control. A lot of times, your fate is dependent on others. We are all products of the place that we live in and we must work together in order to have a properly functioning society. And working together means that sometimes, you have to relinquish control to those around you. In the case of me kayaking, I was the only one in control. I could go as fast or as slow as I wanted to, even though there were twenty mph winds and waves kept splashing into my boat. To me, peace isn’t laying on a massage table, paying some stranger to rub your back for and hour, relieving the muscles of all its supposed knots. Peace is appreciating the world the way it was intended to do so. Kayaking makes me think to a time in which the Inuit’s used kayaking to survive, to thrive. And sometimes, I need more than food, water, and my iPhone to survive, I need nature to live.

Since I have graduated from college, life has been moving way too quickly. The minutes turn into hours, which turn into days, which turn into weeks, which turn into a lifetime. And by me taking a break every so often, it is my way of slowing things down a bit and just enjoying what mother nature has to offer to everyone.

With that being said, I have compiled a list of things that I love about nature. Feel free to agree, disagree, turn off your computer, comment below, ask a question, or just keep on reading.

1) The smell before/after a rainstorm can literally take your breath away

2) The beauty of a magnolia tree blooming for the first time in the Spring

3) A cardinal sitting in the snow covered trees

4) Ice melting on a river after a harsh Winter

5) A double rainbow

6) A baby chick hatching out of its shell is mesmerizing

7) Laying in the grass on a Summer’s night, exploring the world’s constellations

8) Looking up when you are in a forest with trees towering 100 feet above you

Since, I love nature so much, I thought you might enjoy this fact, the Atlantic Ocean is saltier than the Pacific.

Although some of you may not be nature people, I urge you to get out sometime between now and then to enjoy something that hasn’t been ruined by society, humans, or technology. Nature is the worlds #nofilter. Go out there and live!

Until next time, the one and only and 62 others who share my same name,

A.B.

P.S. Go and check out this blog. It’s written by someone, who enjoys writing about everything and has an opinion about anything. She is my kind of girl and I give her credit for writing about even the controversial topics